Republicans' hurricane hubris

Republican climate deniers sowed the wind. Now Americans will reap the whirlwind.

An elephant hurricane.
(Image credit: Illustrated | NOAA via Getty Images, Orla/iStock)

Another enormously powerful storm is barreling towards the United States. Hurricane Florence is projected to strike the Carolinas and Georgia late this week, inflicting severe wind and storm surge damage. Just as dangerous is the projection that it will probably stall out near the coast, dumping most of its rain in a small area and causing massive flooding far inland — just as Hurricane Harvey did to Houston last year.

It is a terrifying and dangerous situation for residents of the affected states. In the longer term, it is also an object lesson for how conservative Republicans are failing the absolute most basic task of governance: representing the interests of their constituents. Republican policymakers have been twiddling their thumbs while a huge threat bears down on their states — if not actively making things worse.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.